Díaz blows third save in a week, and LA misses chance to tie for NL's best record
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LOS ANGELES -- All the Dodgers needed were three outs from Edwin Díaz, but for the third time in his last four appearances, the closer failed to convert a save.
The Dodgers had much to gain by winning Thursday night's series opener against the Brewers, and were in a good position to do so, entering the ninth inning with a two-run lead. But Milwaukee rallied for a three-spot and came from behind for a 5-4 victory, stunning L.A. at Dodger Stadium.
"It’s frustrating because I know my ability. I know what I can do on the mound," Díaz said. "To not be able to do it sucks. I’ve just got to come tomorrow and try to keep getting better."
In the long term, the loss dropped the Dodgers (73-49) two games behind the Brewers (75-47) for the best record in the National League. L.A. could win the season series against Milwaukee with two wins this weekend, which could have implications down the road should tiebreakers be needed to determine postseason seeding.
In the short term, the Dodgers had to use five of their leverage relievers in a game they ultimately lost, with six games remaining until their next scheduled off-day.
"A loss is a loss," manager Dave Roberts said, "but there's certain losses that are more costly."
Since returning from surgery to remove loose bodies from his right elbow on July 29, Díaz has allowed eight runs in 5 2/3 innings (12.71 ERA). He's struck out eight, walked three and given up 12 hits in that span.
Despite the poor performance, Roberts said multiple times that he will not remove Díaz from the closer role, citing how the bullpen as a whole has struggled of late.
"Give me another option," Roberts said. "I can't just say, 'Change to lower leverage.' I have to have other options, and to be quite honest, none of those guys really are throwing the baseball great."
On Thursday, Díaz struck out William Contreras looking to begin his outing, but he followed by allowing four consecutive singles. The first two to Nos. 8 and 9 hitters Joey Ortiz and David Hamilton were fastballs left over the plate. The second two, which each knocked in a run, were sliders to Jackson Chourio and Garrett Mitchell.
Díaz got one more batter, and he struck out Gary Sánchez looking on three pitches before being pulled from the game. Southpaw Alex Vesia relieved him and allowed the winning run to score on a Jake Bauers single.
When Díaz blew saves on back-to-back days in Arizona over the weekend, he identified his feel for his slider as his primary issue. His fastball command gave him trouble on Thursday. While he averaged 96.5 mph with his four-seamer, his velocity remains down a tick from where it was in 2025 (97.2 mph).
"I’ve been in this position before, and I’ve been able to find a way to get better," Díaz said. "I’ve just got to sit down with the pitching coaches to see what I’m missing and what they say to see if we can fix it, and keep working hard."
The Dodgers are confident that with time, Díaz will pitch like the decorated closer they signed to a three-year, $69 million contract this past offseason. He'll have runway in the ninth inning until the team can't afford to give it to him.
L.A. would have plenty of options if the team wanted to go the closer-by-committee route, including Tanner Scott (2.25 ERA), Vesia (2.79 ERA), Edgardo Henriquez (3.04 ERA) and Jack Dreyer (3.14 ERA). All four have performed better than Díaz this season, but over the past couple of weeks, they have all been shaky in a way that hasn't skewed their overall numbers.
"We’ve got to get other guys on track to even have that be even a valid conversation, to be honest with you," Roberts said.
Díaz is more focused on getting right rather than the role he's pitching in. He knows that he is better than he has been since coming back from injury, and he wants to get back to his old form.
"I want to do the best thing for the team," Díaz said. "At the end of the day, if they give me the ball in the ninth, I will try to do my job. If they give me the ball in another inning, I will try to do my job. Got to get better, be consistent."